MLA In-Text Citation Guide

Overview

This lecture explains how to create and format MLA in-text citations, handle exceptions like missing information or multiple authors, and details citation placement within sentences.

MLA In-Text Citation Basics

• Use an in-text citation whenever you quote or paraphrase a source.
• An MLA in-text citation includes the author's last name and the page number.
• Match in-text citations with entries in the Works Cited list.

Citation Placement and Styles

• Place parenthetical citations directly after the quote or paraphrase, before the period.
• Use a narrative citation by mentioning the author in the sentence and providing only the page number in parentheses.
• Combine citations for multiple sources in one set of parentheses, separated by a semicolon.

Special Cases for Authors

• For two authors, include both last names in the citation.
• For more than two authors, use the first author's last name followed by "et al."
• If there is no author, use the first element from the Works Cited entry (organization name or a shortened title).

Titles and Source Types

• Italicize titles of self-contained works (whole books, websites).
• Use quotation marks for titles of works within larger sources (journal articles, book chapters).
• Shorten long titles to the first word or phrase for in-text citations.

Missing Page Numbers and Other Numbering

• Use chapter, section, or scene numbers if no page numbers are available.
• Include only the author’s name if no numbering is present; do not invent or use unnumbered paragraph numbers.

Multiple Works by the Same Author or Authors with Same Name

• Add a shortened title to the citation when referencing more than one work by the same author.
• Include authors’ initials (or full names if initials match) for different authors with the same last name.

Citing Secondary Sources

• Cite the original source directly when possible.
• If using a secondary source, mention both the original and accessed authors, using "qtd. in" before the secondary source's author.

Key Terms & Definitions

• In-text citation — A brief source reference within the text, usually author and page number.
• Parenthetical citation — Citation in parentheses at the end of a sentence.
• Narrative citation — Author’s name in the text, page number in parentheses.
• et al. — Latin for “and others,” used for sources with three or more authors.
• qtd. in — Abbreviation for “quoted in,” used when citing a quotation found in another source.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Practice creating MLA in-text citations for various source types.
• Review the MLA Works Cited formatting guidelines.